Finding A Relationship
by Kit Kat Kidd 2004
Summary: Hey there everyone. This is the sequel to Hey Arnold The Movie: Saving The Neighborhood. I just saw it (five days early) and I’m in the mood to write a sequel where Arnold ponders what Helga has just told him during the movie. PS: Wrote this on June


Finding A Relationship  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own it. Duh! If I did, would I be writing it here? No! I'd be making it into an episode.  
  
AN: Hey there everyone. This is the sequel to Hey Arnold The Movie: Saving The Neighborhood. I just saw it (five days early) and I'm in the mood to write a sequel where Arnold ponders what Helga has just told him during the movie.  
  
A week. That was all that had passed since Helga told Arnold she loved him and then kissed him. Arnold shuddered at the fact for seven years Helga pretended to hate him and secretly loved him. He never even thought she liked him. School was the next day and he knew that he would have to face her sooner or later. He grumbled something about the way Helga had treated him the past seven years as he climbed into bed and then fell asleep.  
  
Arnold sighed as the clock on the wall of Mr. Simmons' room finally hit the end of the school day and the final bell rang. Gerald was the first out of the classroom, followed by Stinky, Helga, Sid, Curly, Rhonda, Phoebe and finally the rest of the class. The only one remaining was Arnold. He sighed again, grabbed his backpack and walked out of the classroom; ready to face anything the students of PS 118 would throw at him. What he wasn't ready for was a group of girls surrounding Gerald outside on the playground. "All right, ladies, one at a time. Please, no pushing." Arnold heard Gerald's voice say coolly to the crowd. Arnold had to push a fifth grade girl out of the way just to see Gerald's face. "Gerald?" Arnold shouted just to be heard. A bunch of girls turned towards him and a few started to push him closer to the table Gerald had just gotten up on. Gerald cleared his throat as he pulled up Arnold onto the table. "Gerald, what's going on?" Arnold asked as he looked all around the playground for any signs of someone helping him. He didn't like all this attention. He sighed, relieved as he saw Helga storm over, knowing she would chase all the girls away. "Just living the high life, brother." Gerald answered while winking at some girl. "Man, I love saving the neighborhood. It comes with all this fame and fortune." "Uh, Gerald." Arnold said, narrowing his eyes at his best friend. "Oh, all right, just fame. I mean, Arnold, we did save our neighborhood from being torn down by that creep Sheck." A bunch of girls cheered and Arnold noticed Helga walking into the crowd. "All right, girls. Break it up. Give the football head and tall hair boy some room. You're gonna over-inflate their already inflated egos." She cried pushing a bunch of girls away from Arnold and Gerald. "Besides, they couldn't have saved it without a little girl power." Helga said, cocking her eye at Arnold who blushed. Helga smiled and pushed the remaining girls away from the two boys. Some girls complained and one had the nerve to approach Helga and tell her to get out of the way. "Wanna tell that to Old Betsy?" Helga threatened holding up her left fist. The girl shook her head and left. She looked over her shoulder and saw Gerald slouching while Arnold smiled gratefully. "You owe me one, Football Head." She said gently and left. Arnold nodded and looked at his best friend. Gerald scowled at him and sat down on the bench. "You know, she's not all that bad once you get to know the real Helga G. Pataki." Gerald looked up at him and gave him a look that clearly stated he didn't understand. Arnold sighed and sat next to his friend. "You'll never believe what Helga said to me on Sheck's roof the other day." Gerald leaned back, obviously intrigued. "She said she loved me." At this Gerald burst into laughter and had to hold onto the table to keep from falling on the ground. "She told you," Gerald said gasping for breath, "what?" Arnold lowered his eyes to look at the ground. Suddenly his eyes traveled to across the playground to where Helga was chatting with Phoebe. "Arnold, man, think about it." Arnold snapped out of his trance and looked at his friend with curious eyes. "She does not love you. Sometimes I think she doesn't even like you. She's always picking on you." "Yeah, me in particular! Haven't you noticed? I think maybe she does love me. I mean, ever since we were three she's been picking on me but whenever I get into trouble she's always been looking out for me." Arnold said, his voice slightly rising. Gerald held his hands in front of him for defense. "Okay, Arnold, okay. How do you feel about her?" Gerald asked. Arnold sighed defeated and put his hands to his face. He shrugged loosely and sighed again. Gerald groaned and put his hands on Arnold's shoulders. "You got to decide how you feel about her. Arnold, buddy, you've always been the reasonable guy in our school, however you have a tendency to fall for any moving female." "Do not!" Arnold replied defensively. Gerald cocked an eyebrow. "Let's see. At the beginning of the year you liked Ruth McDougal. You didn't even know the first thing about her other than the fact she had and I quote "shiny auburn hair and glossy highlights". Even while you still liked Ruth you had that thing for Maria. I know that look on your face after she kissed you on the cheek. After Ruth and Maria you liked that mystery girl who posed as Cecile, your French pen pal. Now frankly, that poser was pretty cute looking but she wasn't honest with you. Then after Cecile you liked our substitute teacher Miss Felter. After Miss Felter you liked that one older girl Summer that you met on the beach. Then after Summer you started to like Lila and let's not forget your cousin's weird friends: Lulu and Hilda. Frankly Arnold, you're one crazed Casanova. I wouldn't be surprised if you started to like Phoebe." Arnold smirked. "Nah, Gerald. That's your department. Besides, if I remember correctly you liked Maria's friend Connie, right? And what about Bridget?" Gerald rolled his eyes. "Arnold, I do NOT like Bridget. I cannot emphasize that enough. And compare my three crushes to your." he paused counting off how many crushes Arnold had on his hands, "compared to your eight. Man, you are sick. And besides, I saw the look you gave Helga when you two were dancing together at the April Fools dance. So what does that make? Nine?" "Gerald, the April Fools dance was a long time ago." "It was only a couple of months ago!" Gerald cried out loud enough for the whole playground to hear. A few students turned their heads and Gerald blushed. Gerald sighed and lowered his voice. "Arnold, dude, you have to decide who you really like. If I remember correctly, who was it that talked to Big Patty when she wanted to beat up Helga and tried to get her to see the real person behind the mean outer exterior?" "Me." Arnold stated plainly. "And who was it who offered to give up his crackers to Helga back in preschool after Harold stole hers and she started to cry?" Gerald said matter-of-factly. "Me." "And who was it that hugged her right after you came home from your cousin's house and completely ignored Lila?" He said his voice becoming more accusing. "Me." "And who was it that has constantly hugged her and been nice to her when no one else would?" "Okay, Gerald, I get it! It's me! I've always been nice to Helga. I can't help it. I know she has a rough time at home and can't really express her feelings to anyone. Okay? I understand that! But how is that going to help me figure out if I really like her or not?" Gerald sighed heavily. "Arnold, that's up to you. But I wouldn't be surprised if you decided you really like her. You know sometimes she can be a real pain in the a-." "Gerald!" "Sorry. You know she can be a real pain but deep down you know she has a soft heart. You said it yourself: she just has a hard time expressing her feelings. Maybe she didn't know how to tell you she loved you. Girls do that now a days." Gerald smiled and left Arnold to think about what he had just said. Arnold sighed and watched as Helga turned and hid behind a garbage can. He shook his head and got up, following her.  
  
"Stupid Arnold. I wish telling him I love him could be easier. I hate not being able to really look at him any more. Why does life have to be so complicated? "Too caught up in the moment to really mean anything." Ha! He doesn't realize how much I really care for him." Helga sighed, digging her face into her knees. She felt a warm drop roll down her cheek. "Great." She muttered. "Now I'm crying. Now Helga G. Pataki, the toughest girl at PS 118 who usually never cries, is crying. I'm such a loser." "Helga." Arnold whispered. She shrieked and jumped to her feet, quickly hiding what looked like a golden piece of metal in the shape of a heart behind her back. "Arnold!" She cried out and suddenly her face became hard. "How dare you sneak up on me like that, Football Head! You should know better!" Arnold chuckled and shook his head. "Helga, did you really mean what you said back on the roof?" He asked. Suddenly another tear rolled down Helga's cheek. She blushed quickly and wiped the tear from her face. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Arnoldo." She hissed. Arnold smiled and took her into a loose hug. Slowly he tipped her face to look at him. "Helga, do you really love me?" He asked with a sincere smile. Helga looked at him for the longest time before she spoke. "Would you completely hate me if I said I did?" She asked gently. Arnold shook his head as Helga blushed and pulled away from him. She stared at the ground and put her hands behind her back. "I love you." She said, her voice just below a whisper. She looked up and saw Arnold standing with his back to her. "You know that it's going to take a while before I can actually know if I love you or not, right, Helga?" He said gently. Helga nodded and he turned around, walking up to her. "I need some time to think about this whole scenario, though." He smiled and winked at her. "But, who knows? I might actually start to love you back." He added. "There's hope?" Helga asked, her heart skipping a beat. She felt like she would faint any minute. "There's hope." Arnold answered. Helga smiled and watched as he passed her on his way home. He turned around and smiled at her. "You do realize, though, that I had no idea you even liked me. I always thought you hated me, what with the constant spitballs and rude comments and funny nicknames." Helga chuckled. "That was kind of the point. I didn't want you to know until I was ready to tell you." She whispered. Arnold smiled. "Going home?" He asked. She nodded, blushing. "Want me to walk with you?" Helga felt her heart start to race. He was actually offering to walk her home. "Sure, Arnold." She answered and threw her backpack over her shoulder. Arnold smiled and they began to walk towards Helga's house, while getting a few stares from their remaining classmates. Harold smirked. He couldn't let an opportunity like this pass him up. "Ooh, Ar-nold! Why are you walking Helga home? You love her or something?" Arnold smiled and looked over at his classmate and friend. From across the playground Phoebe braced herself to see Helga pound Harold into the monkey bars like she normally did; however it never came. "Maybe one day I will, Harold." Arnold answered which made Helga's eyes widen. She bit her lower lip and made a tight fist to keep herself from lunging into Arnold's arms. She wanted him to love her but if she were too assertive she would push him away. Arnold looked at Helga and smiled, taking her hand in his. "Come on, Helga. Let's get out of here." Helga nodded and followed Arnold towards her house.  
  
She sighed as he walked her to her front door. Sometime during the walk, Arnold had decided to invite Helga to a movie, go to the beach and then walk her home, sometime around seven in the evening. Helga cleared her throat as the streetlamps came on and they saw a bulldozer and cement mixer rush by. She smiled. "They still need to fix that huge hole in the sidewalk and the overpass, don't they?" Arnold nodded. "Yeah. That whole bus scene was kinda fun, though." Helga faked a laugh. "For you, maybe. I was terrified. I thought we were gonna die." They looked at each other and started to laugh. Helga calmed herself and walked up her stairs to her front door. "Well, Arnold, I guess I'd better get inside. Getting kinda late." She stated. Arnold smiled and walked up to stand next to her. Helga gasped as he pressed his lips to hers in a butterfly kiss. She moaned softly and wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her body closer to him. Slowly they broke away. "There's hope." Arnold whispered softly and released her, walking down the steps. She blushed and opened the door, walking inside. Arnold glanced back at her and smiled as she closed the door. "Good night, Helga." He said.  
  
"But, Dad." Helga complained as her father paced the kitchen floor while her mom sat at the table, drinking from her smoothie. "No "buts", Olga." Big Bob answered, his eyes narrowed sternly. "Her name's "Helga", B." Miriam said flatly. Bob grunted his response and turned back to Helga who gave him a wounded puppy dog stare. "No! Of all people, why did you have to fall for the orphaned boy?" He complained. "Okay, one: he's not an orphan! And two: why do you care?" Helga shouted. Bob gave his second daughter a cold hard stare. "Why can't you just accept the fact I'm happy and live with it? I love Arnold and nothing and no one is going to change my mind!" "Criminey, Helga! He's always against me! The whole saving the neighborhood thing, Mighty Pete, the family picnic your school threw, the golf tournament, everything! I refuse to let you two be together." Helga's eyes filled with tears. "I don't care what you say! I love him and I'll never stop loving him! I'd rather die than leave him and neither you nor anyone else can ever stop that! I hate you!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as she turned and ran out of the house, slamming the door behind her.  
  
Helga sobbed loudly as she found herself in the park. Rain began to pour and she curled up on a park bench, shivering from the cold. She wrapped her arms around herself and silently cried herself to sleep.  
  
When she woke the next morning she found herself in a soft bed in a dimly lit room. She gasped as she felt an arm touch her side and a pair of lips gently touch the back of her neck. She quickly turned around and came face to face with Arnold who was sitting on a small desk chair next to the bed. He smiled and pulled her closer to him, gently holding her hand for emotional support. "Arnold?" She whispered, almost fearing it was a dream. "Morning, Helga." He said and stood up from the side of the bed. Helga quickly pulled the covers up to her neck as she looked deeply into Arnold's eyes. "What happened yesterday?" He asked. Helga shook her head as her memories came flooding back into her mind. "Dad.he saw us kissing and told me I could never see you again." She whispered softly, her tears returning to the corners of her eyes. Arnold's smile faded into a frown and he sat on the edge of the bed, holding Helga tightly. "He said you were always against him and he didn't want us to be together." She said, now between sobs. Arnold held her closer and began to rock with her, trying to calm her tears. "What'd you tell him?" "I said no matter what he said or felt I would always love you." She sobbed. Arnold smiled softly and turned Helga's face to look at him. She sniffed softly and smiled as he pressed his lips to hers. Slowly he pulled away and held Helga tightly. "I'm glad you feel that way, Helga, because after my Grandma found you in the park last night and brought you back here, I thought something bad happened to you. I realize, Helga, that I love you too." Helga's eyes widened as she jerked out of his grasp. "Really?" She asked hopefully. He nodded and kissed her again, his hand enclosed in hers in a promise of love.  
  
From behind the cracked door, Grandma and Grandpa watched as the two kids confessed their feelings. Grandpa sighed happily and shut the door to Arnold's room. Silently leaning against it he smiled at Grandma. "They're just like we were at that age." He said softly to his wife. Grandma nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up like us too." Grandpa cocked an eyebrow at Grandma. "You want Helga to end up crazy like you?" "I'm not crazy." Grandma defended. Grandpa smirked and looked at her outfit (a black body suit with a long black tail and cat ears). Grandma narrowed her eyes at her husband and hissed like a cat. "Watch it, Philly." Grandma teased pulling off the cat ears. "Whatever you say, Pookie." Grandpa answered. "Whatever you say." 


End file.
